Marking paint, such as inverted marking spray paint (also known as “upside down paint”), may be used by land surveyors, underground facility locate technicians, or anyone that has a need to mark a location on the ground. Marking paint may be dispensed onto the ground using marking devices, such as paint marking wands, applicators, and/or wheels.
In many marking applications, a specified marking paint color may be required for identifying a particular facility or entity. For example, once located, an underground power line may be marked with one color, an underground telephone line may be marked with another color, an underground gas line may be marked with yet another color, and so on. Paint durability and/or ease of removal of the marking paint may also be important. These marking paint characteristics may vary depending on the surface on which the marking paint is applied (e.g., pavement, grass, gravel, and so on). Consequently, marking paint may be formulated to vary in accordance with durability and/or ease of removal specifications for different surfaces and uses. For example, municipalities may require that marking paint on streets and sidewalks fade away within a specified period of time. Therefore, it may be beneficial to develop mechanisms for ensuring, for example, that the proper color and/or formulation of marking paint is being used and/or has been used.
In addition, certain inefficiencies may exist in marking applications when the user of the marking device is unaware of the amount of marking paint contained within a paint dispenser. For example, if a large marking operation is begun with a partially filled paint dispenser, the paint dispenser may become empty before the marking operation is complete. Consequently, the marking operation may be interrupted while the user retrieves another full paint dispenser to replace the empty paint dispenser and resumes the marking operation. Therefore, it may be beneficial to develop ways for the user and/or remote supervisor to know and record the type and amount of marking paint present in the marking device, the corresponding paint marking distance and/or when the paint dispenser is becoming empty.
Accordingly, approaches are needed for automatically determining the characteristics, such as color and durability, of marking paint used in a marking operation, such as an underground facility locate operation; for monitoring the amount of marking paint present in the marking dispenser and/or for determining when the marking dispenser is becoming empty.